Adventurous Myanmar Motorcycle Tour

Join this 16-day motorcycle tour covering over 2000 kilometers in Myanmar. This will be a motorcycle trip, like no other trips, in an unspoiled, genuine, and isolated country that is just starting to open up to the rest of the world. This is a once in a lifetime trip, at the moment of your history, which will be an amazing experience that Myanmar Motorbike Tours hopes to share with you.

Skill level

Styles

Accommodation

Throughout your motorcycle tour, you will stay at these following accommodations:

Bagan: Bagan Umbra Hotel, standard room (2 nights)

Kanpalet: Mountain Oasis Hotel, standard room (1 night)

Kyaukme: Aryone Oo Guesthouse or similar (2 nights)

Magway: NanHtike Thu Hotel, superior room (1 night)

Mandalay: Royal Power Hotel or 79 Living Hotel, superior room (3 nights)

Mindat: Victoria Guesthouse, standard room (1 night)

Naypyitaw: Aureum Palace Hotel, superior room or similar (1 night)

Nyaung Shwe: Nandawunn Hotel, superior room (2 nights)

Pyin Oo Lwin: Hotel MayMyo, superior room (1 night)

Ywangan: Gue Gue Guesthouse, standard room (1 night)

Program

Day 1: Arrive in Mandalay, no riding

Whenever you arrive in Mandalay, the guide and driver will pick you up at the airport, bus station or train station and take you to the hotel. You will have today to settle in and adjust yourself to Myanmar time. You will have a dinner at a local Burmese restaurant where you can meet the other riders and go over the trip ahead.

Day 2: Mandalay tour (80 kilometers / 50 miles)

In the morning, you will meet the motorcycles that you will be riding for the duration of the tour, the CRF250L. The 250 is the perfect motorcycle for touring Myanmar’s varying terrain. The bike is light enough to put on a boat but powerful enough to make it up the highest mountain Myanmar has to offer.

You will take a tour of Mandalay and the surrounding areas today and get used to the bikes and the local riding style. You will visit U Bein Bridge, Amarapura, Sagaing, and have a sunset on Mandalay hill before going to dinner.

Day 3: Mandalay to Kyaukme (200 kilometers / 125 miles)

It's time to get out of the city and up into the mountains. You will ride among rice fields for about 30 kilometers before you start climbing up onto the Shan Plateau. You will quickly ascend to 1000 meters above seas level. You will visit the newly constructed, yet seemingly deserted Cyber City with great views of the plains below.

You will then visit a few waterfalls as you pass through Pyin Oo Lwin and Nyaungcho to the historic Goktiek Viaduct on sealed roads. You will weave your way down and up the Goktiek gorge before you make it to the railway town of Kyaukme. You will eat at a Shan / Chinese restaurant before you retire to your hotel.

Day 4: Kyaukme to Mountain Village to Kyaukme (100 kilometers / 63 miles)

You will meet your guide in the morning and visit the bustling local market. The hill tribes you will visit today are happy to let you stay in the tribes' homes but the tribes don’t have enough food for the group so you will have to bring enough meat and produce for dinner. The trip will mostly be off-road today as you work your way through the maze of mountain trails. Evening drive back to Kyaukme and Overnight at the hotel in Kyaukme.

Day 5: Kyaukme to Pyin Oo Lwin (200 kilometers / 125 miles)

You will wake up early in the morning to the sounds of roosters crowing and schoolchildren playing. Village life starts early so you will too. You will work your way north on a newly constructed road toward the ruby capital of the world, Mogok. You won’t be allowed to enter the city without bikes so you will get about as close as you can before you turn south.

These newly constructed roads along the mountain ridges are absolutely stunning so you will have lots of time to take photos of the surrounding areas. You will go south zigzagging your way down the mountains and then level out at about 1100 meters for the last 50 kilometers into the British hill station of Pyin Oo Lwin. You should have time to visit the picturesque Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens before sunset. You will have dinner at an upscale European / Asian restaurant on the lake.

Day 6: Pyi Oo Lwin to Ywangan (175 kilometers / 109 miles)

If you didn’t make it to the gardens the day before, you will see them in the morning. You will also have time to ride around town to experience the old summer capital of colonial Burma. Then, you will work your way back down the Shan Plateau (back-road this time) and have a spectacular river crossing on a small wooden boat.

You will pass another mountain range before finally heading up a narrow paved mountain road to the small Danu town of Ywangan. The sleepy village doesn’t offer much for entertainment but the food is good, beds are clean and the showers are hot.

Day 7: Ywangan to Inle Lake (175 kilometers / 109 miles)

After a simple breakfast at the Ywangan hotel, you will head east over another mountain range on an unfinished road that will take you through some tea growing villages and cliff-side trails to a sealed road on the other side.

You will then go to Pindaya where you will visit a famous Buddha filled cave where, legend has it, a Shan prince saved a group of captive maidens from a giant spider. You will continue to make your way south through Shan, Danu, and Pa-O villages until you descent on Inle Lake. You will make your way into Nyaungshwe town to a modern hotel for the night.

Day 8: Inle Lake boat tour, no riding

You will take a rest from the bikes today and take a boat ride on Inle Lake. The lake is home to the Intha people who have lived with the lake for countless generations. The Intha people have a special relationship with the lake that is best explored and investigated while on a boat. You will also have a local guide who will help you unlock the secrets of this serene lake and its people. Lunch will be on the lake and you’ll have dinner in town.

Day 9: Nyaungshwe to Naypyitaw (250 kilometers / 156 miles)

You should feel relaxed and ready to roll after your rest day on the lake. You will head south along the lake then cut west at the bottom of Inle. You will continue through the Pa-O town of Pinlaung before you wind down the Shan Plateau toward Naypyitaw.

Naypyitaw is the shimmering brand new capital of Myanmar with the widest roads and newest buildings in the country. This surreal, out of place capital is home to some of the nicest hotels and restaurants in the country which will be in extreme contrast to many of the places you will visit on this amazing adventure.

Day 10: Naypyitaw to Magway (200 kilometers / 125 miles)

You will ride around Naypyitaw in the morning and pass the decadent parliament building on an enormous 20-lane road on the way out of town. You’ll then take some dirt roads through protected forests as you head west. You will pass Taungdwingyi and make it to the dusty riverside town of Magway. You’ll have dinner at a local riverside restaurant / beer station.

Day 11: Magway to Kanpetlet (250 kilometers / 156 miles)

You’ll leave Magway and go north after crossing the Irrawaddy River. The roads are mostly sealed but there will be some parts that are under construction that can add a bit of challenge to your ride. You will travel through plains and rolling hills all the way to the town of Kazunma before you go west through a protected forest to Saw on the Chin border.

As soon as you pass Saw, you will climb up to Kanpetlet and your mountainside hotel at more than 1700 meters. It will be cold in Chin State so the hotel will light up a wood-fired water heater so you can have a hot shower for the night. Dining options are limited in Kanpetlet so you will have dinner at the secluded hotel.

Day 12: Kanpetlet to Mindat (100 kilometers / 63 miles)

The hotel would have cut power before 22:00 so you will probably be up quite early in the morning. You will ride the bikes back down into town and have a morning hike in the small Chin villages downhill from Kanpetlet. The local Chin hiking guide will help you to communicate with the villagers and gain a better understanding of their unique way of life. After the hike, you will go back up the mountain, past the hotel, and into Nat Ma Taung National Park.

Along the road between Mindat and Kanpetlet, you will make a detour to Mount Victoria (Nat Ma Taung). At over 3000 meters, Mount Victoria hosts a unique environment which contains much endemic flora and fauna. After Mount Victoria, you will continue on to Mindat on a winding single-track unsealed road. You will make it to Mindat by sunset for dinner and stay at a simple guesthouse for the night.

Day 13: Mindat to Bagan (200 kilometers / 125 miles)

You will visit Mindat’s local market with some interesting seasonal forest products before you descent down the mountains and into the plains for the last time. You will cross many dry riverbeds and rocky hills on your way east toward Bagan.

You will cross the longest bridge over the Irrawaddy River at Pakokku and take a short stretch of road west to Bagan. After checking into your mid-range hotel, where you will stay for the next 2 nights, you’ll go out for dinner at a local or western restaurant depending on whatever the group is craving.

Day 14: Bagan tour

You are back on the tourist circuit today. In the morning, you will meet your local guide at the hotel to begin the tour of the ancient city of Bagan. You can either travel by motorcycle, van, horse cart, or e-bike depending on your preference. Your guide will escort you around the multitude of ancient temples for the day until you retire to the hotel. Dinner will be at any of the numerous restaurants near the hotel.

Day 15: Bagan to Mandalay (250 kilometers / 156 miles)

Your last day of riding will be on mostly sealed roads with a few river (dry and wet) crossings before you get back to Mandalay. You will first go west to visit Taung Kalat at Mount Popa. If you have time you can hike up the 777 steps to the top. You will then ride north all the way to Mandalay. At night, you'll have a final goodbye dinner at a local barbecue buffet restaurant.

Day 16: Mandalay departure

The motorcycle tour is over but your adventure continues. You will meet you in the morning to help you make it to your train / bus / plane to get out of Mandalay or just say goodbye as you continue your travels on your own.

Skill level

Advanced

Can ride for 5-6 hours

Extensive riding experience

Assistance on demand (if required)

Experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles

Comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions

Included excursions

Boat riding to the Inle Lake

Tour to the ancient city of Bagan

Location

During this motorcycle tour, you will go on a journey up into Shan villages, the hill station of Pyin Oo Lwin, Inle Lake, the surreal capital Naypyitaw, the immense Mount Victoria, Chin Villages, the incredible Bagan, the spiritual volcanic Mount Popa and back to the cultural heart of Myanmar, Mandalay.

Food

The following meals are included:

Breakfast

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

15 nights accommodation

Daily breakfast

English-speaking guide for the entire trip

Entrance fee for the visit mentioned in the program

Fuel for the motorbike

Government tax and service charges

Helmet, knee cover, and elbow cover

Liaison fees

Permission fees

Supporting van throughout the trip with space for motorbike

Truck car for motorbike transfer

Honda CRF250L motorbike rental

What's not included

Any other items not mentioned in the included services

Domestic flights

Drinks and personal expenses

Entrance fees for the sites not mentioned in the program

International flights to / from Yangon

Meals for lunch and dinner

Other transfers for visits

Tips for the guide

Travel insurance

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 20% of the total price.

The deposit is fully refundable if the booking is cancelled up to 90 days before the arrival date.

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